By John Pangkatana

Three separate landowner company executives have made questionable sub-lease arrangements with international forestry developers that have the same company secretary in the Gulf Province, reports the Post Courier.

Their respective sub-leases are an exact replica of each other, the Commission of Inquiry in SABLs in Gulf Province established in Port Moresby yesterday. 

The developers are also believed to be subsidiaries of a prominent Malaysian logging company in Papua New Guinea.

By John Pangkatana

THE Commission of Inquiry (CoI) secretariat said they had a target to complete all listed hearings into Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABLs) by March 21, due date set by the National Government, reports the Post Courier.

Chief Commissioner John Numapo yesterday gave the assurance that despite some recent hiccups they were projected to complete all hearings listed.

While the Commission of Inquiry into Special Agriculture and Business Leases continues, revealing the layers of corruption and incompetence in the allocation of the 99-year SAB leases, the PNGExposed blog has republished the findings of an earlier Commission of Inquiry which reported in 2009 the Department of Lands was corrupt and incompetent. Its recommendations for a full Commission of Inquiry into DoL were ignored….

By John Pangkatana

LANDOWNERS say there has been no meaningful consultation or engagement with them by the proponents of the Kerema/Meporo Agro Forestry Project.

This was highlighted as part of the people’s objection to Koaru Resource Owners Company Limited’s application for a Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) for Portion 323C in the Gulf Province, during the Commission of Inquiry (CoI).

Timber rights in the Nuku Maimai SABL (Portion 26C) in West Sepik have been traded for hundreds of millions of dollars on the international market as the newswire story below reveals

Pacific Plywood Acquires Harvest Rights for 65,800 Hectares of Forest in Papua New Guinea

Total Investment Involves HK$310 Million

By Jimmy Kalebe

Landowners in the four Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) in East Sepik yesterday called on the provincial and National Government to revoke all SABL in the province, report the Post Courier.

In a petition drafted over the weekend by landowners from Turubu and Sausso Local Level Government and Nungwaia/Bongos, the people demanded that their land under SABL be returned to them.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture Business Leases heard that an officer from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning illegally carried out a Land Investigation Report (LIR) on more than one thousand hectares of land which is the subject of the inquiry, reports the Post Courier.

The CoI also heard that he had conspired with another Lands officer in carrying out the LIR that covers 1058 hectares of land in portion 2485 C of Iarogala 1 and 2 in Papa Village of Central Province.

By John Pangkatana

LANDOWNERS not reflected in the Purari Development Authority (PDA) Inc. Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) for up to 700,000 hectares of land in the Baimuru District have won a psychological victory. The PDA land title is set to be revoked, reports the Post Courier.

This is understood to be one of the largest land leases issued under the SABL lease-lease back provisions for customary land instituted under the Government’s Lands Department’s new reform.